Latest news with #InventingAnna
7NEWS
a day ago
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Fake heiress Anna ‘Delvey' Sorokin cops death threats after rabbits used in photo shoot dumped in park
Anna 'Delvey' Sorokin says she has received hundreds of death threats since she was accused of dumping pet rabbits she posed with for a photo shoot in a New York City park. Sorokin, the fake German heiress who stole tens of thousands of dollars from banks, posed alongside three bunnies on the streets of Manhattan's posh Tribeca neighborhood last week. The bunnies were recognised and discovered in Brooklyn's Prospect Park days later, prompting fierce online backlash. But the headline-making New York City socialite — who vehemently denied responsibility for the discarded bunnies — said she's particularly shocked by the strong reaction to the incident. 'It just seems to me like everything I do is just wrong,' Sorokin said. 'I can never do right by these people.' Sorokin shared screenshots of dozens of hateful messages she has received within the last few days to her Instagram account — which she called 'unusable'. Some of them suggest that she should be killed or take her own life, including one that advises her to get someone to 'make a carpet out of your skin'. 'It seems like a lot of these people, just because they're engaged in animal rescue, they feel like they're entitled to insult you or talk to you or say anything because they're hiding behind this thing that they're doing,' she said. Sorokin, 34, whose life was depicted in Netflix's hit 2022 series Inventing Anna, took the photos with the bunnies on August 3 to create content for Instagram, where she has more than 1.1 million followers. Shortly before the shoot, Sorokin asked whether any of her followers in the New York City metropolitan area had a pet rabbit she could borrow, she said. Christian Batty, 19, a hairstylist Sorokin met briefly last year, reached out and offered what he described as a friend's rabbits, she said. Sorokin added that she paid Batty to provide the rabbits and for his Uber ride to return the rabbits to their owner in Yonkers — or so she thought. A screenshot of an Uber receipt Sorokin shared with NBC News shows the ride's drop-off location was just south of Prospect Park, where the rabbits were later spotted. Days later, she said, she started receiving messages on social media about the rabbits' being spotted in Prospect Park. A Facebook user posted images of the domesticated bunnies in the park to a public Facebook group dedicated to rabbits, House Rabbit Society, and other users connected them to Sorokin's photos. Sorokin initially thought the posts were fake, but the flood of messages did not stop. At first, Batty denied having dumped the rabbits, according to screenshots of text messages between Sorokin, Batty and photographer Jasper Soloff. Sorokin posted those messages on her Instagram story. 'Jasper had no knowledge or input as to how the bunnies were obtained or what happened to them after the photo shoot,' Soloff's attorney, Gary Adelman, said in a statement. Batty did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Hours later, Batty said, he did dump the rabbits, and he absolved Sorokin of any involvement, according to a statement on his Instagram account, which has since been taken down. 'When I realised the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked,' Batty said in the statement, screenshots of which Sorokin provided. 'At 19, with no experience caring for animals, no pet-friendly housing, and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice.' 'Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them there, thinking that was my best option,' he added. Sorokin pushed back against the notion that Batty's age was an issue. 'He's old enough to move to New York and live on his own. He should have enough common sense to handle rabbits,' she said. 'We're not, like, asking him to do anything that requires high IQ from him.' Sorokin said she was concerned about how the incident might affect her pending immigration case. A Manhattan jury convicted Sorokin in April 2019 on four counts of theft services, three counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny after she was accused of defrauding banks and friends of tens of thousands of dollars. Prosecutors said she persuaded friends and businesses to lend her money to afford a lavish lifestyle under the guise that she was the daughter of an oil baron or a diplomat worth tens of millions of dollars. In 2021, Sorokin was released on parole, and she is fighting deportation. She has been required to wear an electronic ankle monitor and cannot leave a 120km house arrest radius based in New York. 'This time, I've done nothing wrong,' she said. 'And I had the best intentions, and it's really frustrating.' The New York Times reported that the rabbits were rescued by blogger Terry Chao, who spotted them in the park. Chao could not immediately be reached for comment. Sorokin said she donated $1000 to All About Rabbits Rescue in the aftermath of the scandal. She also denied harming the rabbits by putting them on leashes, as some have suggested online. 'I don't know, I'm not a bunny professional. I didn't know the leashes were such a big deal,' she said. 'We would put them down for, I don't know, a minute or two, take a picture and pick them up. We were not walking them by any means. And they seemed to be happy.'
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Anna Delvey breaks silence after dumped bunnies social media backlash
Anna Delvey is breaking her silence after being accused of dumping multiple rabbits used during a photoshoot in New York City. The "Dancing with the Stars" alum and convicted con artist took to her Instagram Story on Aug. 11 to address now-viral claims that she left two rabbits that were found abandoned in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The backlash follows Delvey posting a photo carousel with the pair of bunnies and a companion video last week on social media. Delvey explained that a person named Christian Batty, who she described as a "member of the hair team I briefly met" during fashion week last year, had said he "knew someone who could lend us bunnies for a few hours." "I later discovered that, instead of borrowing animals from a legitimate source like (Batty) claimed, he had obtained them via Facebook Marketplace and intended to release them into Prospect Park," Delvey wrote in a lengthy note to fans. "(It was) a plan of which I had no knowledge," Delvey continued. "The idea that someone would compromise the well-being of innocent animals for personal networking opportunities is deeply disturbing to me." In an Aug. 12 statement to USA TODAY, Delvey said that "I'm appalled, and frankly terrified, by the violent threats and hundreds of vile, harassing messages flooding my social media." "I've provided overwhelming proof of my innocence, yet nothing seems to satisfy the performatively outraged masses whose only real aim is to churn hate in my comments and DMs," Delvey added. USA TODAY also reached out to reps for Jasper Egan Soloff, a photographer who worked on the shoot. According to People and The New York Times, Batty released statements on since-deleted social media pages addressing the incident and saying "I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice." 'Dancing With the Stars' Anna Delvey elimination episode received historic fan votes Delvey (aka Anna Sorokin) is the real-life subject of the Netflix series "Inventing Anna" from Shonda Rhimes and served a prison sentence for swindling banks, hotels, and rich friends with a false reputation as a wealthy German heiress. Delvey said on Instagram that she was "appalled by what transpired," adding that "it's not my job to source or return animals" as talent. "But as an animal lover, I can promise I will never work with them again without knowing exactly where they came from and how they're getting home," she added. "I do not eat meat, and I had no involvement in the acquisition, transport or return of these animals. I would never condone these actions." After Delvey posted the photoshoot on social media, vegan influencer Terry Chao said in a post that she noticed that the bunnies from the photo were the same ones she had helped with two neighbors after she saw that there were lost bunnies found in the New York City park in a local Facebook group. "Animals are not props, they are beautiful, living things that we need to honor and cherish," Chao added.
NBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Anna Sorokin says she received hundreds of death threats over bunnies abandoned in Brooklyn park
Anna "Delvey" Sorokin says she's received hundreds of death threats in the days since was was accused of dumping pet rabbits she posed with for a photoshoot in a Brooklyn park. The fake German heiress who stole tens of thousands of dollars from banks posed alongside three bunnies on the streets of Manhattan's posh Tribeca neighborhood last week. The bunnies were recognized and discovered in Brooklyn's Prospect Park days later, prompting fierce online backlash. But the headline-making New York City socialite — who vehemently denied responsibility for the discarded bunnies — said in an interview with NBC News that she's particularly shocked by the strong reaction over the incident. 'It just seems to me like everything I do is just wrong," Sorokin, 34, said in a phone call with NBC News. "I can never do right by these people.' Sorokin shared screenshots of dozens of hateful messages she's received within the last few days to her Instagram — which she called "unusable" — with NBC News. Some of them suggest that she she should be killed or take her own life, including one that advises Sorokin to get someone to "make a carpet out of your skin." 'It seems like a lot of these people, just because they're engaged in animal rescue, they feel like they're entitled to insult you or talk to you or say anything because they're hiding behind this thing that they're doing,' she said. The 34-year-old, whose life was depicted in Netflix's hit 2022 series "Inventing Anna," took the photoshoot with the bunnies on August 3 to create content for her Instagram account, which has more than 1.1 million followers. Shortly before the shoot, she posted on Instagram story asking if any of her followers in the New York City metropolitan area had a pet rabbit she could borrow for the shoot, Sorokin said. Christian Batty, a 19-year-old hair stylist Sorokin met briefly last year, reached out to her and offered what he described as a friend's rabbits, she said. Sorokin added that she paid Batty to provide the rabbits and for his Uber to return the rabbits to their owner in Yonkers — or so she thought. A screenshot of the Uber receipt Sorokin shared with NBC News show the ride's drop off location was just south of Prospect Park, where the rabbits were later spotted. Days later, she said she started receiving messages on social media about the rabbits being spotted in Prospect Park. A Facebook user posted images of the domesticated bunnies in the park to a public Facebook group dedicated to rabbits, House Rabbit Society, and other users connected them to Sorokin's photos. Sorokin initially thought the posts were fake, but the flood of messages did not stop. At first, Batty denied dumping the rabbits in the park, according to screenshots of text messages between Sorokin, Batty and photographer Jasper Soloff that Sorokin posted on her Instagram story and shared with NBC News. "Jasper had no knowledge or input as to how the bunnies were obtained or what happened to them after the photo shoot," Soloff's attorney, Gary Adelman, said in a statement. Batty did not immediately return a request for comment. Hours later, Batty confessed that he did dump the rabbits and absolved Sorokin of any involvement, according to a statement he posted to his Instagram account, which has since been taken down. "When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked," Batty said in the statement, screenshots of which were provided by Sorokin. "At 19, with no experience caring for animals, no pet-friendly housing, and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice." "Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them there, thinking that was my best option," he added. Sorokin pushed back on the notion that Batty's age was an issue. "He's old enough to move to New York and live on his own, he should have enough common sense to handle rabbits," Sorokin said. "We're not like asking him to do anything that requires high IQ from him. I just don't know what to say." Sorokin said that she was concerned about how the incident might affect her pending immigration case. Sorokin was convicted by a Manhattan jury in April 2019 on four counts of theft services, three counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny after being accused of defrauding banks and friends of tens of thousands of dollars. Prosecutors said that Sorokin convinced friends and businesses to loan her money to afford a lavish lifestyle under the guise that she was the daughter of a oil baron or diplomat, worth tens of millions of dollars. In 2021, Sorokin was released on parole while she fights deportation. She has been forced to wear an electronic ankle monitor and cannot leave a 75-mile house arrest radius based in New York. "This time, I've done nothing wrong," she said. "And I had the best intentions and it's really frustrating." The New York Times reported that the rabbits were rescued by blogger Terry Chao, who spotted the rabbits in the park. Chao could not immediately be reached for comment. Sorokin said she donated $1,000 to the group All About Rabbits Rescue in the aftermath of the scandal. She also denied harming the rabbits by putting them in leashes, as some have suggested online. "I don't know, I'm not a bunny professional. I didn't know the leashes were such a big deal," she said. "We would put them down for, I don't know, a minute or two, take a picture and pick them up. We were not walking them by any means. And they seemed to be happy."
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Did Anna Delvey dump bunnies? Controversy explained as millennial scamster responds to outrage
Anna Delvey finds herself in a new row, this time concerning bunnies. Anna Delvey was convicted in 2019 of grand larceny and theft of services for defrauding wealthy individuals and businesses.(Instagram/theannadelvey) The fake heiress was convicted in 2019 of grand larceny and theft of services for defrauding wealthy individuals and businesses. She was also the subject of Inventing Anna, the Netflix miniseries. Delvey has been called out for renting bunnies for a photoshoot and then allegedly dumping them in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. She has now responded to the outrage over her purported action. What is the Anna Delvey bunny dumping controversy? Delvey had a photoshoot on August 7, where the 34-year-old was seen posing for photos around New York City, with two rabbits on a leash. These photos were taken by Jasper Soloff. One social media user, after the shoot, claimed that the model rabbits looked like the ones they found abandoned in Prospect Park, as per Page Six. This led to massive outrage. "You are a gross human being," one individual said. Another remarked "ICE says they go after 'criminal immigrants,' but somehow it's always the dishwasher, never the scammer with a publicist." Since then, Anna has taken to her Instagram account to provide her version of events. What happened with the bunnies? Anna explains Anna explained on Instagram that one Christian Batty was to blame. Her assistant told her he knew someone who could 'lend' bunnies for a few hours, New York Post reported. Anna Delvey's Instagram story(Instagram/theannadelvey) "I later discovered that, instead of borrowing animals from a legitimate source like he claimed, he had obtained them via Facebook Marketplace and intended to release them into Prospect Park, a plan of which I had no knowledge. The idea that someone would compromise the well-being of innocent animals for personal networking opportunities is deeply disturbing to me," Anna wrote on Instagram. She added that she was 'appalled' as an 'animal lover' and would try to ensure these rabbits were rehomed safely. "I do not eat meat, and I had no involvement in the acquisition, transport, or return of these animals. I would never condone these actions," she said. Further, Anna revealed that Batty 'lied for days' about returning the rabbits. She also shared alleged screenshots of a group chat where Jasper and Batty were present. The latter purportedly admits to dumping the bunnies. "I was panicking with bunnies. That's the reason I dumped them," he allegedly wrote. Batty's Instagram account seems to have been removed, but NY Post reported him putting up an Insta story on August 10, which said "When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked. At 19, with no experience caring for animals … and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice. Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them [in Prospect Park], thinking that was my best option. That belief was wrong, and I regret it deeply." Anna, meanwhile, said on Instagram that she had donated $1000 to All About Rabbits Rescue.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Anna Delvey Rabbit Drama Explained After Bunnies Dumped in Park
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Notorious fraudster Anna Delvey is back in the spotlight this week after an assistant on one of her photoshoots admitted to abandoning rabbits in a New York park — the bizarre end to an unusual chain of events. Newsweek has emailed Delvey outside of regular working hours for comment. Why It Matters Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, first made headlines back in October 2017, when she was arrested for pretending to be a German heiress to deceive hotels, banks and individuals out of over $200,000. In 2019, she was found guilty of eight theft-related charges. She was released from prison in 2021 but was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for overstaying her visa. She was released from ICE in 2022 and is currently under house arrest. Her story was the subject of the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna, in 2022. L: Anna Delvey is seen on May 16, 2025 in New York City. R: A Desert Cottontail rabbit, also known as Audubon's cottontail, pauses in a cactus garden in Santa Fe, New Mexico. L: Anna Delvey is seen on May 16, 2025 in New York City. R: A Desert Cottontail rabbit, also known as Audubon's cottontail, pauses in a cactus garden in Santa Fe, New Mexico. BG048/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/What To Know The case of the abandoned rabbits began with a post on a local Facebook group about a bunny dumped in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, according to Terry Chao, a vegan blogger who documented the drama on her Instagram account. Chao and others saved the cotton-tailed hopper on Monday, and named it Parker. Three days later, Chao said, a second rabbit was seen in the park and also rescued. This rabbit was christened Moon. It was a mystery as to how the two long-eared lagomorphs ended up in Prospect Park. Then, the Anna Delvey photos appeared. The scammer-turned-social-media-star posted a series of images to her Instagram profile posing with two rabbits on leashes. A video of her and the tethered carrot munchers was also uploaded. Chao said she was notified on Saturday about the shoot but initially did not know that the bunnies she had saved in the park were the same animals in Delvey's photoshoot. However, she soon realized they were, and in a strange twist of fate, revealed she had been contacted by the photographer's assistant, Christian Batty, about using her own pet for the shoot. "I saw the person tagged in the insta post, oh, it was the same person who tried to scout my bunny!" Chao wrote. "That's weird, I thought. Wait, the bunny Anna is holding and trancing (a type of hold on the bunny's back that puts it into a fear state) is strikingly similar to Parker." Instagram users began accusing Delvey and her team of abandoning the rabbits, which they denied. In one reply, Delvey wrote: "I will find and sue dimwits like yourself who simply refuse to accept that the bunnies that were borrowed for our shoot are safe at home with their owners." Batty wrote in response to another commenter: "It isn't the same bunny, as that bunny is located in Yonkers. And as you said you found 4 bunnies in prospect park, we only had 2. One so happens to look like one of the ones you found in the park and now it's Anna's fault? It sounds like someone trying to find an easy solution to a problem bigger than a photoshoot with rabbits that were ethically sourced!" Batty eventually though, came clean. In a post shared by Delvey on Instagram Stories the assistant wrote: "I lied to Anna, and the rest of Anna's team about the rabbits." "When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked. At 19, with no experience caring for animals, no pet-friendly housing, and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice. Believing mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them there, thinking that was my best option. That belief was wrong, and I regret it deeply." Newsweek contacted Batty for comment via direct message on Facebook, and also on Instagram, but that account later appeared to be deactivated. Chao said on Instagram that Batty "did physically show up to help me successfully catch" a third rabbit that appears not to have been used in the final photoshoot Newsweek emailed Chao for further comment outside of regular working hours. What People Are Saying Terry Chao, on Instagram, wrote: "I hope this entire episode has helped in spreading awareness that you CANNOT DUMP YOUR PETS in the park. Owning a pet is a PRIVILEGE not a right." What Happens Next Chao shared in posts to social media that she is taking donations to help care for the bunnies, and looking for foster families for them.
